Date:15 Jan 2021 (Fri) 20:00-21:30 HKT

Speaker: Samuel Chan (Hong Kong award-winning percussionist)

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Topic: Classical Transcriptions on the Marimba Using Four-mallet Technique

Description: 

Widely being regarded as the keyboard percussion instrument with the most versatility and expressive depth, the marimba has become a standard concert instrument in recent decades. Besides traditional marimba repertoire, it has become a common practice for percussionists these days to adapt classical pieces on the instrument. Among them, the most popular works are J.S. Bach’s violin or cello repertoire, but not much exploration has been done to classical music by other composers and for other instruments, such as piano or guitar. With the advancement of playing technique, it is becoming clear that there is a large aspect of polyphonic possibilities in marimba playing, proven by increasingly pianistic writing of modern marimba repertoire.

This clinic will further explore these polyphonic possibilities with a focus on how to play classical transcriptions on the marimba using four-mallet technique. There will be discussions of the benefit of playing transcriptions, as well as the concepts and principles that are important when playing transcriptions. These ideas will also be supported by demonstration of exercises to develop specific techniques and musical examples from my own transcriptions.

To better illustrate the topic, the clinic will include performance of several classical transcriptions on the marimba.